The King of Scots

Chapter 20

Palace of Holyroodhouse 

Royal Announcement

Palace of Holyroodhouse 

The Following Announcement is made by Their Majesty's and to be realised to press as soon as possible

It is with great pleasure that their majesty's that on this day February 20th 1997 Announce the blood adoption of their first child   

This comes after their majesty's spent the first month of the new year searching for the perfect child

They have official blood adopted a six month old baby girl named Mary

Linlithgow Palace, February 22nd 

After adopting Mary, Harry and Fredrich decided to retreat to Linlithgow. They wanted to spend some time with their new daughter before they went back to vipers nest that was court. Right now the new trio are taken a picnic next to the estates loch, Harry had Mary in his arms while giving feeding her a bottle. "Fatherhood suites you" Fredrich had, Somehow the pair had fallen even more in love since their wedding even with a war they truly loved each other, "I just wish my parents were here to meet her" and now after the war she would never know either sets of grandparents. 

For  the rest of the day the new family enjoyed their time together but they knew this would come to an end soon as the pair would have to return to royal duties and with the national gallery exhibition coming up they would have to return. 

Edinburgh Castle, A week later 

The royal family returned to the capital after another week and it may only be the second month of the new year but already the social calendar was seeing dates being filled left and right, especially with a second attempt at the season coming up it was gearing up to  be a busy year. New events were also being added to the yearly calendar for example a dinner for members of the diplomatic corps, And to top it all of the Queen of Spain would making a state visit and as such a dinner would be held in her honour.  

And with the ever increasing press coverage of the royal family a new office had been set up within the royal household, office of media relations, while the job the of the ministry of press affairs was mainly about the government they often got questions about the royal family and to better coordinate this the office of media relations was set up. Management of the ever increasing royal household came down to two officials. The first was the Lord steward who's job oversaw the budget of the household and the smooth running of the 'Below Stairs' Staff and the Lord chamberlain who is in charge of the the departments that advise the monarch also over seeing the lines of communication between the king and his parliament. 

But before any of the other grand events that had been planned for the year could take place, a small family event in the chapel of st Margert took place, The new crown princess had to christened Cardinal Michaels  had come from St Andrews to perform the rites, the gathered group was small as the chapel only seats twenty and no press had been invited. Harry and Fredrich spent days trying to figure out who would be the godparents and had settled upon Hermione for godmother and Neville for Godfather. 

After the christening Sirus asked harry to walk with him, and they soon found themselves walking on the castle battlements. "I wish your parents could be here" they stopped and looked over they city, people returning to normal life after the war, "So do I, and speaking of my parents I want you to unveil their portrait with me" with them together it would represent the two parts of his parents life, their chosen family in Sirius and Remus and their son.   

National Gallery, Two days later 

Harry knew this day was coming and yet he was nervous, Daphne had spent months putting this collection together picking and choosing from the art work of the royal archives. Some pieces were commissioned by the family other were purchased and now waiting to make his speech harry was about to unveil a portrait that had never seen the light of day, painted while his mother was six months pregnant, they would forever be trapped in time as a couple just out of their teenage years who would be killed in just over a years time. 

The Gallery director finished making his speech and welcomed Harry and Sirius onto the stage. The crowd was made of members of the aristocracy, Gallery patrons, Gallery staff and Students and teachers of the royal collage of art. Harry had spent a month trying to write his speech. 

"I have always been a supporter of Art, for it can capture so many moments in a person life. Art takes a moment of a persons life and holds it still never changing even as its subjects change. When Miss Greengrass told me about the portrait which you are about to see I was shocked, The painting shows my parents, my mother was six months pregnant with me when this was painted, it shows two people who in just over a years time would die a horrible death" 

Harry moved away from the podium and the curtain covered portrait, Sirius stood on the other side and at the same time they pulled their ropes. The crowed was stunned, the portrait showed lily sitting on a high backed oak chair in a sliver gown her baby bump on show, she worse opera length gloves with a diamond bracelet on her left wrist and if one looked closely they could see the diamond formed the shape of lily's, her auburn had been put up into an elegant bun and she wore her wedding tiara, and painted on the chair was the potter family crest. 

James was standing behind and to the right of her, in black dress robes he looked elegant and refined, he wore his round glasses which made him look smart, his wild hair had manged to behave for his sitting as it was straight and not the usual birds nest, his robes had been sewed with the potter crest on the left breast. The background was cream white, red curtains hung behind them and finally their in broad daylight painted behind them was the coat of arms of the Scottish royal family. It all made sense in this painting they had all but declared their intension to claim the throne and this could be seen as their first and only royal portrait. 

It truly was a moment in time captured for all the world to see, harry was brought out of his musings by the applause of the crowd and out in that see of faces harry could see a few tears had been shed, and as he looked out he saw Fredrich at the back of the hall and for a brief moment he saw his parents standing behind his husband with proud looks on their faces, and before they disappeared he saw his father give him a wide smile and his mother wipe away a tear.